The Path raises $14.3M to build a safer AI therapy app

In short: The Path, a new mental health app co-founded by Tony Robbins and former Calm employees, raised $14.3 million and says it is building a safer AI therapy experience.

What happened

The Path is a startup that wants to offer therapy and coaching through an AI system, meaning software that can hold a conversation and respond in a human-like way. CEO Anson Whitmer told TechCrunch the idea grew out of an earlier men’s mental health app called Mental, where an AI interactive audio feature became especially popular.

Tony Robbins, the author and motivational speaker, joined as a co-founder after getting involved with the team and the product direction. The company says Robbins helped shape The Path into a “therapy-plus-coaching” app that also reflects his self-improvement approach.

The company announced a $14.3 million seed funding round led by Prime Movers Lab, where Robbins is a partner. Other backers named in the report include speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, boxer Deontay Wilder, and Designer Fund.

The Path says it focuses on safety for mental health conversations, compared with general-purpose chatbots. It says its AI scored 95 on Vera-MH, a mental health safety benchmark (a standardized test that checks how an AI handles sensitive mental health situations), while consumer chatbots top out at 65.

The app currently lets users pick from 11 virtual AI therapists and adjust preferences like how direct the therapist is. It is free for now, and the company plans to eventually charge $40 per month.

Why it matters

More people already use general chatbots for mental health questions, but these tools are not designed like a therapist. If The Path’s safety claims hold up in real-world use, it could offer a more careful option for people who cannot access a human therapist.

Source: TechCrunch AI